Louvre museum suffers major water leak as precious artifacts damaged

The leak occurred in the museum’s Egyptian department and reportedly damaged between 300 and 400 works, although the final count is still being processed

The Louvre museum in Paris has suffered a major water leak that has damaged hundreds of works, marking yet another blow for the world’s most visited museum just weeks after thieves stole priceless French crown jewels in a brazen daytime heist.

Francis Steinbock, the museum’s deputy administrator, confirmed that between 300 and 400 works had been affected, although the final count is still being processed. He said the leak occurred within the museum’s Egyptian department and primarily damaged reference volumes frequently used by Egyptologists.

Steinbock told French media that the impacted items were “those consulted by Egyptologists” and described them as “Egyptology journals” and “scientific documentation” dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

He stressed that “no precious books” were affected and added to Agence France-Presse: “No heritage artefacts have been affected by this damage. At this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive losses in these collections.”

The leak, discovered in late November, originated from a problem that has reportedly been known for years.

Repairs are scheduled for next year. The affected volumes will now undergo drying, binding and restoration before being returned to the shelves.

Gary Guillaud, one of the union leaders at the Louvre, said the leak “represented a real danger for pieces, staff and the building.”

Another union, the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, echoed those concerns in a statement shared on social media, calling the latest incident further evidence that conditions had been “deteriorating for too long.”

The statement argued that “fragile infrastructure, a lack of strategic visibility on the work being carried out, and poor working conditions mean that the protection of the collections and the safety of staff and visitors remain insufficiently guaranteed.”

It also confirmed that union representatives would convene on Monday morning to “decide on the next steps to be taken.”

The incident marks the third major issue to hit the Louvre in as many months.

In November, structural weaknesses forced the partial closure of a gallery displaying Greek vases and adjoining offices.

Just weeks earlier, on October 19, four burglars stole jewels worth €88 million from the museum, exposing serious security failings.

The jewels have still not been recovered, and the museum has since transferred some of its most valuable pieces to the Bank of France for safekeeping.

The chaos comes against the backdrop of mounting criticism from French authorities.

A report released in October by the Cour des Comptes, France’s public audit body, sharply criticised the Louvre for what it described as excessive spending on artwork acquisitions “to the detriment of the maintenance and renovation of buildings”.

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